Unit 60-2

Island Park Reservoir anchors the unit's central geography—a major water body that shapes drainage patterns and defines hunting zones. Upper and Lower Mesa Falls mark significant river features along the Fall River drainage. The volcanic calderas, particularly Island Park Caldera and The Crater, provide topographic context and glassing vantage points.

Sand Mountain, Crater Butte, and Split Butte are recognizable summits for navigation. Hansen Basin and Egin Bench serve as key geographic references. These landmarks, combined with the grid of irrigation canals, make navigation straightforward despite the vast area.

Terrain clusters in the 5,000 to 8,000-foot band, creating a transitional zone between lower-elevation grasslands and higher subalpine country. Open sagebrush and grass flats dominate lower areas—Antelope Park, Big Grassy, and the Camas prairie exemplify this. Moderate conifer stands (primarily lodgepole and whitebark pine) checker the landscape, especially along ridges and drainages.

The volcanic geology creates distinct pockets of denser timber interspersed with bare lava flows and rocky benches. This mix of open parks and timber patches is classic elk habitat, offering feed and cover in close proximity.

Over 2,400 miles of road weave through the unit, creating a well-connected network despite the vast size. Highway 20 provides main access from the south, while Highway 191 feeds from the north. Smaller county and ranch roads branch throughout, making most of the unit drivable or within a short walk from vehicle access.

Island Park, Chester, and surrounding communities are day-trip accessible from Bozeman or Jackson. This connectivity means the unit is approachable but not isolated—pressure is moderate, concentrated around accessible flats and popular drainages. Hunters willing to walk away from main roads find solitude.

Unit 60-2 spans the Ashton-Island Park plateau region of Clark and Fremont Counties, bounded generally by Highway 20 to the south and extending north into the Camas grasslands and volcanic plateau country. The unit encompasses the famous Island Park area, a historic cattle and elk ranching region anchored by Highway 20 and U.S. 191. Nearby towns—Ashton, Island Park, Chester, and Camas—provide staging points and services. The landscape is defined by a high plateau that appears deceptively flat but is actually broken by numerous volcanic buttes, old calderas, and modest elevation changes that create natural movement corridors for elk.

Water is reliable and abundant here—a distinguishing feature. Island Park Reservoir is a massive storage body, while Fall River and the South Teton River provide perennial flow. Spring Creek, Snow Creek, and numerous named springs (Osborne, Sharp, Steele, North Antelope, Cold) dot the unit.

The extensive irrigation infrastructure (North Branch Independent Canal, Saint Anthony Canal, Egin Canal, and others) creates additional water availability that hunters can rely on. Dry Creek and Warm Slough suggest seasonal water, but the overall water picture is favorable—critical in this semi-arid environment.

Elk are the primary quarry in this plateau-and-timber ecosystem. Early season typically finds elk in open parks and mixed timber at mid-elevations, grazing on Antelope Park and Big Grassy Flat. As the rut approaches, bulls move through willow bottoms along Fall River and South Teton River drainages, following elk trails that have been used for generations.

Late season pushes remaining elk into denser timber stands and volcanic rock country where cover is thickest. Glass the open parks and benches during legal light; work creek bottoms and timbered draws during mid-day. The volcanic terrain—rough and rocky in places—favors hunters on foot who can move quietly between parks and cover.